Report: Hooters of America in buyout talks

Private equity firm Wellspring Capital Partners is in talks to buy Hooters of America, according to a report in Fortune.

Atlanta-based Hooters of America is the franchiser of more than 400 restaurants worldwide and has about $1 billion in annual revenue, Fortune said. Hooters has one Wichita location at 3151 N. Rock Road.

Hooters of America was formed in 1984 when Robert Brooks bought franchising rights from Hooters Inc. in Clearwater, Fla.

Hooters Inc. continues to own about 10 locations in the Tampa Bay area, 11 restaurants in the Chicago area, and one in Manhattan, according to its website.

Fortune said Hooter’s Inc.’s ownership of those stores would be a “complication” in the buyout of Hooters of America.